Holding slot for electronic device

ABSTRACT

A device is provided that includes a plurality of walls and at least one holding slot on a wall for temporarily holding the printed circuit board during assembly of the device at an angle with respect to the wall.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 62/150,079, filed Apr. 20, 2015, which is incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

FIELD

The present principles relate generally to electronics and, moreparticularly, to an electronic apparatus and antenna mountingarrangement within an electronic device.

BACKGROUND

Electronic devices such as set-top boxes are typically assembledapparatuses having a plurality of walls and other components. Theseother components can include printed circuit boards, heat sinks or heatspreader, cables, hard drives, smart card assemblies, and antennas. Theplurality of walls and components make the assembly of these devicesquite challenging in high volume manufacturing environments. As such,there is a need to insure that the components are staged, mounted, andinstalled in a manner that is fast and safe for the components. Further,there is a need to insure that the components are inspectable anddesigned in a manner that makes their installation as reversible aspossible for rework in the factory or in the field.

As such, some devices such as the vertically oriented set top boxdisclosed in International Application No. PCT/US15/17791 filed on Feb.26, 2015 incorporate screwless attachment concepts to assemble thehousings of the devices in such a way that the access to the devices inthe field can be performed in a safe and efficient manner by anauthorized person without the need to undue screws. Such designs as inthe above mentioned application make gaining access to the interiorcomponents of these devices more convenient and reduce excessivehandling.

The casings of the vertically oriented set top boxes and gateway devicesare relatively tall. The bases are generally narrow. With such ageometry, these designs present more challenges than the horizontallyoriented set top boxes for screwless housing assembling. The reason isit is difficult to include a locking mechanism in these tall boxes thatcan extend from the top side to the bottom side of the boxes and yetstill be able to house the plurality of necessary components which caninclude a plurality of antennas without interfering with the lockingmechanism.

The need for a plurality of antennas in these vertically oriented settop boxes or gateway devices particularly presents a challenge. Theproblem is that in some designs up to 7 antennas are required, whichmeans that additional cables must be used to connect the antennas to acircuit board and additional fixtures or antenna supports must beinstalled in the devices to support the antennas. Further, the antennasnot only involve extra handling of the work product in the factory thatplace other components at risk and drive up manufacturing cost, but alsothese antennas have a propensity for electrostatic discharge in use. Assuch, designers must ensure that the antennas are adequately shielded inthese devices which tend to be quite crowded. Thus, the need exists foran antenna mounting system that is commensurate with the screwlessattachment concepts and yet do not pose the risk of electrostaticdischarge to and from the antennas.

These and other drawbacks and disadvantages presented by verticallyoriented electronic devices are addressed by the present principles,which are directed to a vertical electronic apparatus and associatedprinted circuits. However, it can be understood by those skilled in theart that the principles can be taken advantage of in horizontallyoriented devices as well.

SUMMARY

According to the present principles, a method is provided formanufacturing an electronic device that includes configuring one or moreprinted circuit boards with a plurality of antenna 602 connected to atleast one printed circuit board. The electronic device can have avertical orientation and an outer casing that includes a case bottompiece, a case top front piece and a case top back piece. The featurescan include providing staging slots 230 in the case top back piece forholding the board 501 at an angle with respect to the interior surfaceof the case top back piece to permit connections to the printed circuitboard which can include connecting antenna wires 604 to antennaconnectors 606 on the printed circuit board. The printed circuit boardcan be attached to only one side wall of one of the case front top pieceor the case top back

The present principles include an electronic device 200, which can be avertically oriented set top box or a vertically oriented gateway device,that comprises a plurality of vertically oriented walls 204, 206, 208,an electronic component 501 within the electronic device, at least onestaging slot 230 on at least one of the vertically oriented walls inwhich the staging slots are configured to temporarily support theelectronic component, a plurality of antennas 602 among which at leastone of the antennas is positioned adjacent to a first wall of thevertically oriented walls and at least one of the antennas is positionedadjacent to a second wall of the vertically oriented walls, and anantenna bracket 601 being a polygonal structure and having at least twosides 603 that support the antennas. The electronic component can be aprinted circuit board 501 that is positioned parallel to one of thevertically oriented walls. The staging slots can hold the circuit boardat an angle with respect to the one of the vertically oriented wallsduring assembly of the electronic device. The at least one of thevertically oriented walls can be a rear wall 206. There can be twostaging slots in which each staging slot can have a constant hollowedshape that extends inward from the rear wall and can be configured tohold a corner of an upper edge of the printed circuit board duringassembly of the electronic device. The constant hollowed shape of thestaging slots can be U-shape, V-shape or C-shape having an openingportion in which the opening portions of the two staging slots face eachother to hold the printed circuit board perpendicularly with respect tothe rear wall during assembly of the electronic device. The stagingslots can be at a lateral position that is above an upper edge of theprinted circuit board in which the staging slots can be at a lateralposition that is above an upper edge of the printed circuit board andbelow the antenna bracket. The upper edge of the printed circuit boardcan be positioned at least partially below the antenna bracket and theantenna connectors can be positioned on a component side 504 of theprinted circuit board. The electronic device can include a plurality ofantenna connectors 606 on the printed circuit board positioned closer tothe upper edge of the printed circuit board and away from the antennabracket and configured to connect with the plurality of antenna wires604 extending from each of the antennas. Each of the antenna wires ofthe antennas can be routed to one of the sides of the antenna bracketand the antenna bracket can be mounted to the rear wall by attaching oneof the sides of the antenna bracket to the rear wall. The component sideof the printed circuit board can face the rear wall.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present principles can be better understood in accordance with thefollowing exemplary figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vertically oriented electronic device200 to which the current principles are applied;

FIG. 2 is a disassembled perspective view of the vertically orientedelectronic device 200;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a retention clip 214;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the casing that shows how the pieces ofthe casing are assembled;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the casing that shows a case backretaining element;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the casing that shows a cross-section ofan interlock;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the casing that shows an opening on thecase front;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the retaining elements of the verticallyoriented electronic device 200;

FIG. 9 is another perspective view of the retaining elements of thevertically oriented electronic device 200;

FIG. 10 is a disassembled perspective view of the vertically orientedelectronic device 200;

FIG. 11 is a bottom perspective view of the vertically orientedelectronic device 200 and the retention clips 214;

FIGS. 12-14 are various views of the retention clips 214;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the case bottom piece 213;

FIGS. 16 and 17 are perspective views showing how the bottom piece 213engages the case top front piece and the case top back piece;

FIG. 18 is a bottom perspective view of the vertically orientedelectronic device 200;

FIG. 19 is a view of the release fixture 300;

FIG. 20 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary method 2100 forassembling an electronic device having a case bottom piece, a case topfront piece, and a case top back piece, commensurate with an embodimentof the present principles;

FIG. 21 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary method 2200 fordisassembling an electronic device having a case bottom piece, a casetop front piece, and a case top back piece, commensurate with anembodiment of the present principles;

FIGS. 22-25 show perspective views of circuit board assemblyconfiguration 500 to which the current principles are applied;

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of the circuit board assemblyconfiguration 500 highlighting the connector 503 to which the currentprinciples are applied;

FIGS. 27-28 are interior perspective views of the vertically orientedelectronic device 200 showing the circuit board assembly configuration500 to which the current principles are applied;

FIG. 29 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary method 4800 forassembling an electronic device having a case bottom piece, a case topfront piece, and a case top back piece having printed circuit boardstaging slots 230 to which the current principles are applied;

FIG. 30 shows a rear perspective view of the set top box without thecase, in which a plurality of antennas 602 are distributed over thecircuit boards 501 and 502;

FIG. 31 shows various perspective interior views of the rear wall 206with different components thereon to which the current principles areapplied;

FIG. 32 shows a perspective view of a single unitary antenna bracket 601that supports the plurality of antennas 602 within the electronic deviceaccording to the current principles;

FIG. 33 shows a rear perspective view of the antenna bracket 601 inrelation to the circuit board 501 according to the current principles;

FIG. 34 shows various perspective views of the antenna bracket 601 andthe pocket 605 therein which support the antennas 602 according to thecurrent principles;

FIG. 35 shows a perspective view of the antenna bracket 601 and theantenna wires 604 routed to one bracket wall 603 according to thecurrent principles;

FIG. 36 shows a perspective view of the antenna bracket 601 and theantenna wire 604 routed to one bracket wall 603 and toward the firstprinted circuit board 501 on the rear wall 206 of the electronic deviceaccording to the current principles;

FIG. 37 shows a rear perspective view of the antenna bracket 601 and theantenna wires 604 routed to one bracket wall 603 and down to the firstprinted circuit board 501 according to the current principles;

FIG. 38 shows two perspective views of the rear wall 206 having slots230 thereon that facilitate easy installment of the antenna wires 604 tothe connectors 606 on the first printed circuit board 501;

FIG. 39 shows a perspective view of the rear wall 206 in which theantenna wires 604 are connected to the connectors 606 on the firstprinted circuit board 501 and in which the first printed circuit boardis staged in the staging slots 230; and

FIG. 40 shows a perspective view of the rear wall 206 in which the firstprinted circuit board is attached to the rear wall.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a vertically oriented electronicdevice 200 that houses an antenna bracket 601 and antennas 602. Thedevice can include a top 210, a front wall 208, a rear wall 206, sidewalls 204, and a base 205.

FIG. 2 shows the three principal pieces of the vertically orientedelectronic device 200. The three pieces are the case bottom piece 213,the case top front piece 211, and the case top back piece 212. The casetop front piece 211 and the case top back piece 212 are upper parts ofthe device 200.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a retention clip 214 which can beoptionally composed of metal and is utilized to engage and secure thecase bottom piece 213 to the case top front piece 211 and/or the casetop back piece 212. The retention clip 214 is positioned toward thebottom of the electronic device and is a key part of the lockingmechanism applied on the electronic device. By having the retention clip214 at the bottom, the antenna bracket 601 and the antennas 602 can bepositioned at the other end of the electronic device; hence, the antennabracket 601 (shown in FIG. 36 at the top end of the rear wall 206) andthe antennas 602 do not interfere with locking and/or unlocking of theelectronic device. Additionally, the use of the retention clip 214 inconcert with other features to be described permits easy access to theantenna bracket 601 and the antennas 602 when needed. The retention clip214 can be part of a screwless locking mechanism positioned adjacent tothe base 205 of the electronic device and can be remote from theantennas in the antenna bracket 601, especially when they are positionedadjacent to the top 210.

FIG. 4 shows how the case top front piece 211 is slid back onto the casetop back piece 212 of the electronic device 200, and then up intoretaining elements in order to lock the two pieces together such thatinternal electronic components can be housed therein when the assemblyis finalized.

FIGS. 5-7 show the specific engagement mechanism 215, 216, 217 to whichthe current principles are applied. A protruding ledge 216 extendsinwardly from the interior surface of one of the vertical walls of oneof the pieces. The protruding ledge 216 includes a protrusion 215 thatengages a protrusion receiving opening 217 on the case top front piece211. The protrusion receiving openings 217 are generally horizontalledges that have upstanding peripheral walls to make a slot that canreceive the protrusions 215. The slots can be oversized in the dimensionthat is perpendicular to the interior surfaces of the vertical wallsfrom which the horizontal ledge extends, or the slots can be oversizedalong its long lateral axis. The slot can be narrow along the dimensionparallel to the vertical walls or along the horizontal ledge's shortlateral axis to snuggly fix the protrusions 215. The protruding ledge216, the protrusions 215, and the protrusion receiving openings 217 forma screwless engagement structure 977. The arrangement of the protrudingledges 216 and the protrusions 215 can be spaced from the interior topsurface of the case top 210 to permit the antenna bracket 601 and theantennas 602 to be positioned at a lateral level between the interiortop surface of the case top 210 and the protruding ledges 216 and theprotrusions 215. This permits the antenna bracket 601 and the antennas602 from interfering with the locking and/or unlocking the pieces of theelectronic device. FIGS. 8 and 9 show further perspective views of theretaining elements that are used to engage the case top front piece 211with the case top back piece 212. FIG. 8 shows ribs 218 that arepositioned above the protrusion receiving openings 217 and also extendinwardly from the interior surface of one of the vertical walls of thefront piece 211. The ribs 218 would interfere with the case rearretention element if an assembly start position is attempted that is toolow. FIG. 9 shows that a chamfer 299 guides the case top 210 to anacceptable start location. Rib 218 prevents case front from starting ina position that is too low by preventing excessive case travel which candamage components.

FIG. 10 is a disassembled perspective view of the vertically orientedelectronic device 200 showing the interior of the case top front piece211 and the case top back piece 212 of the electronic device 200 towhich the current principles are applied. The retention protrusions 291,the retention openings 292, and the over travel prevention portions 293are shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 11 is a bottom perspective view of the vertically orientedelectronic device 200 in which the case bottom piece 213 is notattached.

FIGS. 12-14 are various views of the retention clip 214 to which thecurrent principles are applicable. The retention clip 214 can beoptionally composed of metal. The views show that the case top frontpiece 211 and the case top back piece 212 can be attached to one anotherand can then be attached to the case bottom piece 213 using theretention clips 214. The retention clips 214 are retained by elements onthe case top front piece 211 and the case top back piece 212. The clip214 is generally V-shape and includes an anchor portion 220 which is oneside of the V-shape. The anchor portion 220 has a rectangular planarshape and has an aperture 277 that fits into an anchor base 221 of thecase top front piece 211 and the case top back piece 212. FIG. 14 showshow the aperture 277 of the anchor portion 220 engages a protrusion 221Ain the anchor base 221, such that an inward pointing ledge at the top ofthe anchor portion 220 grasps a top portion of the anchor base 221 and abottom inner wedge grasps the bottom portion of the anchor base 221 tosecure the retention clip 214. This permits a locking portion 219 of theclip 214, which is the other side of the V-shape, to engage withelements of the case bottom piece 213 to close or assemble theelectronic device 200. In particular, referring to FIGS. 15-16, the topof the locking portion 219 can have a horizontal ledge that extendsinwardly to contact a bottom surface of a clip engaging element 222. Thelocking portion 219 can further have an upward extension at the edge ofthe horizontal ledge to engage an edge of the bottom surface of the clipengaging element 222. As shown in FIG. 17, the outward spring force ofthe clip 214 causes the locking portion to move outward to engage theelement 222. Although a V-shape is shown, a U-shape could be employed aswell and both sides of the V or U-shape part can have different heights.The retention clip 214 and the engaging elements 222 can be part of ascrewless locking mechanism positioned adjacent to the base 205 of theelectronic device and can be remote from the antennas in the antennabracket 601 which can be positioned adjacent to the top 210 of theelectronic device.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the case bottom piece 213, which showsthe base 205 and the clip engaging elements 222 that extend verticallyupward from the bottom piece 213 to which the current principles areapplied. The clip engaging elements 222 are designed to engage thelocking portion 219 of the clips 214 on the case top front piece 211 andthe case top back piece 212. A screwless clip and spring mechanism 288is formed from the clips 214 and the clip engaging elements 222.

FIGS. 16 and 17 are perspective views showing how the case bottom piece213 engages the case top front piece 211 and the case top back piece 212to which the current principles are applied. Release finger 301 pushesthe locking portion 219 inward to disengage the locking portion 219 asit enters an aperture 223.

FIG. 18 is a bottom perspective view of the vertically orientedelectronic device 200 to which the current principles are applicable.The reason is that the apertures 223 for the unlocking are remote fromthe antenna bracket 601 and the antennas 602.

FIG. 19 is a view of a release fixture 300 to which the currentprinciples are applied. FIGS. 16-19 show the release aperture 223 inbase 205. A release finger 301 on a base of a release fixture 300 ispermitted to enter the release aperture 223 to push the locking portion219 inward toward the anchor portion 220, thereby removing the topportion of the locking portion 219 from the engaging element 222. Thiscan be understood also with reference to FIG. 18 in which the releasefinger 301 (not shown in FIG. 18) will contact the outer edge of thelocking portion 219 and move the locking portion 219 away from theengaging element 222.

FIG. 20 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary method 2100 forassembling an electronic device having a case bottom piece, a case topfront piece, a case top back piece, an antenna bracket and antennasmounted therein. Here, at step 2105, the antenna bracket 601 is mountedonto an interior vertical wall of the case top front piece or case topback piece or mounted to a component that is mounted to the interiorvertical wall of the case top front piece or case top back piece. Atstep 2110, the case top front piece 211 is attached to the case top backpiece 212 to form a top structure 210 using a screwless engagementstructure 977. At step 2120, the top structure 210 is attached to thecase bottom piece 213 using a plurality of screwless clip and springmechanisms 288. The case top back piece 212 includes printed circuitboard staging slots 230 which are described in greater below.

The issue that arise with the antennas within the method above is thatthe antennas must be electronically connected to the antenna connectorson one or more printed circuits and it is difficult to make theplurality of connections. This difficulty can arise with otherconnections to the one or more printed circuits, because it is difficultto make certain connections when the circuit boards in already attachedto casing walls and because it is difficult to hold the circuit boardsstill with one hand and make a plurality of connections with the other.

FIG. 21 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary method 2200 fordisassembling an electronic device having a case bottom piece, a casetop front piece, and a case top back piece having the antenna bracket601 mounted therein. The method 2200 is applied to an assembledcondition, wherein the case top front piece is attached to the case topback piece 212 to form a top structure 210 using a screwless engagementstructure 977, and the top structure is attached to the case bottompiece using a plurality of screwless clip and spring mechanisms 288. Atstep 2210, a release fixture 300 is moved vertically upward to cause therelease fingers 301 to also move vertically upward toward a bottom ofthe electronic device to simultaneously disengage a locking portion 219of each of the plurality of screwless clip and spring mechanisms 288,thereby allowing the case top front piece 211 and the case top backpiece 212 to be removed upward from the case bottom piece 213. At step2220, the case top front piece 211 slides down with respect to the casetop back piece 212 to disengage the screwless engagement structure 977and separate the case top front piece 211 from the case top back piece212 such that electronic components included within the electronicdevice can be accessed.

The electronic device 200 can be a set-top box or the like and can bevertically oriented such that the height of the device is higher thanthe width of the front vertical surface and/or the rear vertical surfaceand/or the lateral depth. The lateral cross section can be aquadrilateral shape in which the front and back are parallel and theside surfaces are not parallel to one another. The device can bedesigned such that the release fixture and release fingers movevertically upward toward the bottom of the device to simultaneouslydisengage the plurality of the locking portions to allow the case topfront piece 211 and the case top back piece 212 to be remove upward fromthe case bottom piece 213. The case top front piece 211 and the case topback piece 212 can then further be detached from one another by movingthe case top in a motion oppose to that shown in FIG. 5 to attach thetwo pieces (case top front piece 211 and case top back piece 212). Withthe two pieces 211 and 212 attached, the assembly can be reassembled orassembled by aligning the clip engaging elements 222 with the clip 214when the release fixture is removed or not present.

As noted above, the electronic device 200 can be a quadrilateralgenerally in which the front and back are parallel and the side surfacesare not parallel to one another. However, the general quadrilateralshape can include some additional vertical connecting surfaces to makeat least two additional minor surfaces (i.e. substantially smallervertical surfaces) 280 between the rear wall 206 and side walls 204 (asshown in FIG. 4).

Further disclosed is a method of making a printed circuit board toprinted circuit board electrical connection or configuration 500 when asecond printed circuit board 502 is positioned at a right angle to theprimary printed circuit board 501. This can include the second PCB beingconnected behind the primary PCB on the component side 504 and thesecond printed circuit board being positioned on a non-component orbottom side 505 of the primary PCB. The connection for the two PCBs isthrough connector 503.

FIGS. 22-25 show perspective views of circuit board assemblyconfiguration 500 which can be employed in the vertically orientedelectronic device 200 to which the current principles are applied. Thelimited or small plan view cross-section area of the configuration 500from the bottom view makes the configuration 500 commensurate with thescrewless casing design of the vertically oriented electronic device200. Further, by having the antenna bracket 601 mounted in the finisheddevice at levels in the device in which the antenna bracket 601 or mostof the antenna bracket 601 is above the top edge of the verticallyoriented primary printed circuit board 501 makes the arrangement ofinternal components further commensurate with the screwless casingdesign. With such an arrangement, the locking elements of the housingand the associated release fixture and release fingers for disassemblycan be more freely positioned to avoid contacting the printed circuitboards and other components. If one of the circuit boards were to behorizontally positioned, there would be less positions and greaterconstraints on the positioning of locking elements of the housing andassociated release fixture and release fingers. The circuit boards wouldhave to be smaller and/or positioned at higher locations with thedevice.

Since a component side 504 of PCB 501 can face a rear wall 206 of thehousing of the electronic device, a problem is that access to thecomponents on the component side 504 and access to a secondary PCB 502may need to be made through an undesirable cable. Cables add cost and apoint of potential failure. However, the connector 503 in FIG. 23provides a way for the secondary PCB 502 to be directly attached to theprimary PCB 501 in which the secondary PCB 502 is inserted into theconnector 503. This arrangement reduces cost, improves quality and makesassembly easier, with fewer possibilities for assembly error.

Because the PCB arrangement shown in FIGS. 22 and 23 reduces the numberof cables, it makes room for the use of the plurality antenna cables orwires 604 needed to transmit antenna electrical signal within thedevice. As observed in FIG. 24, if the antenna connectors 606 arepositioned near the top edge of the first printed circuit board 501, itis possible to have the antenna connectors 606 on the component side504. As such, the antenna wires 604 can be short and the overall numberof cables/wires within the device itself can be kept to a minimumnumber.

Also, having the connector 503 being elongated to run along the majoraxis adds stability to the support of second PCB 502 and such aconfiguration of the connector 503 being positioned in a central portionof the primary board 501 allows the second board 502 to fit moreconveniently in the casing in which case top front piece 211 has atapered shape in which the casing narrows to the front wall 208.

As shown in FIG. 25, in an embodiment, a portion of the second printedcircuit board 502 includes an extension 591 of the second printedcircuit board from a plane 592 that substantially abuts a surface of thesecond printed circuit board when the first printed circuit board 501 isconnected to the second printed circuit board by the connector 503.Contacts 588 are arranged on the extension 591.

FIG. 26 is a cross sectional perspective view of a circuit boardassembly configuration 500 highlighting the connector 503 and showingthe contacts 506 that are on the interior cavity 508 of the connector503 to which the current principles are applied. The connector 503 canbe a rectangular structure having peripheral walls 507. The rectangularstructure can have a leading edge 510 that can be a flange that facesthe component side 504 of the PCB 501 and contacts the PCB 501 and aportion of the connector 503 that protrudes through aperture 509 in thefirst PCB 501. The connector 503 can extend back to the panel jack atthe panel jack opening or can be connected to a cable running to thepanel jack. The panel jack can be on the rear wall 206 of the electronicdevice or can be a part of the rear wall. The rear wall 206 can be partof the case top back piece 212 in which some of the lower rectangularfeatures on the piece 212 in FIG. 11 can represent a panel jack.

FIGS. 27-28 show interior perspective views of the vertically orientedelectronic device 200 illustrating the circuit board assemblyconfiguration 500 to which the current principles are applied. Theseviews show that the primary PCB 501 can be screwed, bolted, or securedto the rear case or the case top back piece 212.

The view in FIG. 28 further illustrates that the secondary PCB 502 canhave a heat spreader or heat sink 512 on one of its sides. The heatspreader or heat sink 512 can have a central contact portion 513 thatthermally contacts the PCB 502 or heat generating components thereon.The spreader or sink 512 can have a planar peripheral portion thatpermits heat to be radiated or convected away from the PCB 502.

In an embodiment, the heat spreader or heat sink 512 can be generallyparallel to the PCB 502 and both heat spreader or heat sink 512 and PCB502 can be perpendicular to the PCB 501. The heat spreader or heat sink512 can further provide structural support for the second PCB 502. Here,the heat spreader or heat sink 512 can have a base edge with a verticalledge 588 that connects to the first PCB 501 or the case back 212 tosupport by the heat spreader 512 and in turn the heat spreader 512support the second PCB 502 through contact points 514 (which can bescrews or bolts or the like). The contact points 514 can work inconjunction with connector 503 to support the PCB 502. The contactpoints can run along an edge of the PCB 502 opposite the edge of PCB 502having the base edge (support edge). Other mechanical connectionfeatures 799, such as screws or bolts, can secure the main board 501 tothe electronic device 200.

FIG. 29 shows an exemplary method 4800 for assembling an electronicdevice having a case bottom piece, a case top front piece, and a casetop back piece having printed circuit board (PCB) staging slots 230. Atstep 4801, one can provide an interior vertical wall of a case piece 206having PCB stagings slots 230 attached or formed thereon. These stagingslots 230 will be discussed in more detail below and are shown in FIGS.31, 33, 36, 38, and 39. At step 4802, the antenna bracket 601 withantennas 602 can be mounted onto the interior vertical wall or to acomponent thereon. At step 4803, an edge of the printed circuit board501 is inserted into the staging slots 230 such that the printed circuitboard (PCB) stands at an angle with respect to the interior verticalwall, and the antenna wires 604 can be connected to antenna connectors606 on the printed circuit board. This is an intermediate process stepand shown in FIG. 38. These steps 4802 and 4803 can also be used or canalternatively be used to make other connections to the printed circuitboard or printed circuit boards. At step 4804, the printed circuit boardis removed from the staging slots and is attached to the interiorvertical wall. At step 4805, the case piece having the printed circuitboard is attached to other case pieces and the casing is closed tocomplete the assembly of the electronic device 200. This method 4800 caninclude one or multiple printed circuit boards in an electronic device200. The mounting of the bracket can include the use of screws, bolts orthe like. The method can include connecting the second printed circuitboard 502 to the first printed circuit board 501 in a perpendicularconfiguration 500 by the connector 503 on the first printed circuitboard 501, by passing a portion of the second printed circuit board 502through a second side of the first printed circuit board 501 to engagethe connector 503 on the first side of the printed circuit board 501.The method can also include providing a structural support for a heatspreader or heat sink 512 having at least a portion thereof thermallycontacting the second printed circuit board 502 or one or more heatgenerating components on the second printed circuit board 502, byconnecting a vertical ledge of the heat spreader or heat sink 512 to thefirst printed circuit board 501 or to the case top back piece 212.

FIG. 30 shows the feature of the set top box without the case in which aplurality of antennas 602 are distributed over the printed circuitboards 501 and 502 and outside the peripheries of one or both of theorthogonally arranged printed circuit boards 501 and 502. An embodimentcan include only one board and less than 7 antennas. Here, the firstprinted circuit board 501 with a board heat spreader and heat sink 520(in which “board” refers to the heat sink or spreader being associatedwith the circuit board) is attached to one side of the first printedcircuit board 501 that is opposite the side that connects to the secondprinted circuit board 502. The board heat spreader and heat sink 520 isbetween the first printed circuit board 501 and the rear wall 206 of thecase top back piece 212 of the casing of the electronic device. Theantennas 602 are connected to one of the circuit boards and, in thisembodiment, are all attached to the first printed circuit board 501. Theantennas 602 can be connected to the antenna connector 606 on the firstprinted circuit board 501 by way of the antenna cables 604. The antennascan be WIFI antennas and can be vertically oriented in the verticallyoriented set top box as shown and positioned adjacent to the top 210between the outer top peripheral edges of the printed circuit boards andthe top 210 of the set top box. The antennas positioned along the rearwall 206 can be parallel to the rear wall 206 and laterally positionedto be between a vertical plane extending from the plane of the firstprinted circuit board 501 and the rear wall 206. The antennas 602 can belaminated antenna printed circuit boards.

FIG. 31A shows the rear wall 206 of the case top back piece 212 that isomitted in FIG. 30. FIG. 31 B shows the board heat spreader and/or heatsink 520 positioned adjacent to the rear wall, and FIG. 31C shows thefirst printed circuit board 501 which is connected to the board heatspreader and/or heat sink 520 thereover. These figures also show thestaging slots 230 positioned on the interior wall of the rear wall 206.

Inspection of FIG. 30 shows that interior volume of vertically orientedelectronic devices can be quite crowded with a complex arrangement ofcomponents that comprise circuit boards, the components on the circuitboards, and the components to which the circuit board components arephysically or electronically connected. This crowdedness and complexityis further enhanced when a plurality of antennas is need, because theconventional arrangement of the antennas involves having its ownindependent support. This, in turn, adds to the number of interiorcomponents that must be individually staged, isolated from othercomponents and installed. Further, in these vertically orientedelectronic devices, it turns out that there are spatial constraints andinefficiencies with the individual supports. In other words, the needfor rapid assembly in high volume factories makes it difficult tomanufacture such devices in which the antennas are individuallysupported with their own supports.

In view of the above mentioned issues with individual supports and theneed to shield and connect antennas, a single unitary antenna bracket601 provided and shown in FIG. 32 for holding the plurality of antennas602 and the staging slots 230 provided and shown in FIG. 31 are helpful.The perspective view of FIG. 32 shows the antenna bracket 601 that holdsmultiple antennas and antenna wires 604. The antenna bracket includesmultiple bracket walls or sides 603 to form a polygon structure andantenna pockets 605 supported on at least two bracket walls, wherein theantennas fit within the pockets and the pockets prevent electrostaticdischarge to and/or from the antennas. The antenna bracket 601 can haverounded corners and the sides 603, and the corners can follow orgenerally follow the interior contour of the vertical walls of thecasing. FIG. 33 show a rear perspective view of the antenna bracket 601in relation to the printed circuit board 501 and in relation to thestaging slot 230.

FIG. 34 shows various perspective views of the antenna bracket 601 andhow the antennas 602 slide into the pockets 605. In particular, thecorner region 610 of the bracket 601 highlighted in FIG. 34A is enlargedin FIGS. 34B and 34C to show how the antenna 602 can be inserted intoand supported by the pockets 605. The pockets 605 have a hollowstructure with two broad walls parallel to the broad surfaces of theantenna and two openings. The pockets can further include two narrowopposing end walls that bridge the two broad walls. One opening can beat the top for the antenna to slide into and another opening at thebottom for the antenna wire 604 to extend through to connect preferablyto one of the printed circuit boards.

FIG. 35 shows a perspective view of the antenna bracket 601 and how theantenna wires 604 can be routed to one bracket wall 603. This view alongwith the view in FIG. 30 shows that the antenna wires 604 can be routedfrom end of the antenna pockets 605 along the bracket walls 603 towardone of the bracket walls 603 and downward toward the antenna connector606. Also, FIG. 35 and FIG. 34 show that the antenna bracket 601 canhave mounting apertures 611 on at least one of its walls 603 to securethe bracket 601 to a wall of the housing of the electronic device or toa printed circuit board.

FIG. 36 shows a perspective view of the antenna bracket 601 and how theantenna wire 604 can be routed to one bracket wall 603 and down to thefirst printed circuit board 501 between the first printed circuit board501 and the rear wall 206. The wires 604 can connect to connectors 606at the edge of the first printed circuit board 501. This view shows thatthe bracket 601 and the printed circuit board can both be attached tothe same wall 206 of the housing of the electronic device. FIG. 36 showsthat the antenna bracket 601 can be positioned above the staging slots230 and the printed circuit board 501 can be positioned below thestaging slot 230 in the final configuration, after the antenna wires 604are attached and the circuit board 501 is removed from the stagingslots.

FIG. 37 shows a rear perspective view of the antenna bracket 601 and howthe antenna wire 604 can be routed to one bracket wall 603 and down tothe first printed circuit board 501 and connect to antenna connector 606at the edge of the first printed circuit board 501. This view shows thatthe bottom edge of the bracket wall 603 s to which each of the wires 604are routed can be separated from the top edge of the printed circuitboard 501 to which the wires 604 are routed.

Although quite helpful, the implementation of the antenna bracket 601shown in FIG. 37 has problems. It is difficult to attach the wires 604when the first printed circuit board 501 is already attached to rearwall 206, because there are spatial constraints that do not allow foreasy access to the side of the printed circuit board 501 that faces therear wall 206. It is also difficult to attach the wires 604 to theconnectors when the bracket 601 is already attached to the wall 206 andthe circuit board is not yet attached, because one needs to hold thecircuit board 501 up with one hand and then try to connect each wire 604individually. This is tedious and time consuming and requires greatcare, because the wires 604 are kept at short lengths to ensure they fitin the housing, to ensure they do not interfere or entangle with othercomponents, and to save on material costs. Attaching the wires to thecircuit board before both the bracket and circuit board are connected tothe rear wall 206 is also problematic, because some wires tend todisconnect due the difficulty in handling the bracket and board togetherwhen they are separate components that are intentionally not rigidlybound together. The method 4800 in FIG. 29 addresses this problem withthe introduction of the staging slots 230.

As such, the solution to ensure easy connections of the wires 604 to theconnectors 606 on the first printed circuit board 501 can be betterunderstood with reference to FIGS. 38A and 38B and the method describedreferring to FIG. 29. FIG. 38A is a magnified view of section 570 of theintermediate assembly shown in FIG. 38B. After the board heat sink isattached to the back wall 206 as shown in FIG. 31B, the circuit board501 can be placed in staging slots 230. As such, the rear wall 206 ofthe casing of the electronic device includes staging slots 230 that areadapted to support the circuit board in a vertical or upstandingposition with respect to the rear wall 206, which is orientedhorizontally to permit access and viewing of the underside of theprinted circuit board. Once the antenna wires 604 are attached to theconnectors 606, the circuit board 501 is removed from the staging slots230 and oriented parallel to the rear wall for remaining steps and finalassembly which is shown in FIG. 31C that omits the bracket. There can betwo staging slots 230 which can have C-shapes, U-shaped or V-shapedprofiles in which the open ends face one another. These profiles of thestaging slots can extend perpendicularly inward from the rear wall 206to have a sufficient depth to be able to support the printed circuitboard which can be parallel to the bracket 601 at point in thistemporary state.

FIG. 39 shows the antenna wires 604 attached to the connectors 606. Atthis point, the circuit board 501 can be removed from the staging slots230 and oriented parallel to the rear wall 206 for the remaining stepsand final assembly.

FIG. 40 shows the circuit board 501 after being removed from the stagingslots 230 and oriented parallel to the rear wall for remaining step andfinal assembly.

It should be noted that all examples and conditional language recitedherein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader inunderstanding the present principles and the concepts contributed by theinventors to furthering the art, and are to be construed as beingwithout limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions.

Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, andembodiments of the present principles, as well as specific examplesthereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functionalequivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalentsinclude both currently known equivalents as well as equivalentsdeveloped in the future, i.e., any elements developed that perform thesame function, regardless of structure.

Although the illustrative embodiments have been described herein withreference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that thepresent principles are not limited to those precise embodiments, andthat various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one ofordinary skill in the pertinent art without departing from the scope ofthe present principles. All such changes and modifications are intendedto be included within the scope of the present principles. For example,although the embodiments generally refer to the components with avertically oriented electronic device in which the vertical height ofthe device can be greater than the horizontal length of each of the sidewalls, the principles are intended to be useful and are intended toinclude horizontally oriented electronic device.

Additionally, although the sides of the vertically oriented electronicdevice as well as other components are characterized as being “vertical”or “vertically oriented,” it should be understood that these expressionare intended to include surfaces which may have some curvature or somesmall deviations from being completely vertical (e.g. +/−10° fromvertical can be considered vertical).

Also, it is intended that the expressions “rear” and “front,” theexpressions “top” and “bottom,” and the expressions “vertical” and“horizontal,” as well as other complementary terms are intended to beconstrued from the perspective of the observer of the figures; and assuch, these expression can be interchanged depending upon the directionthat the observer observes the device.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. An electronic device comprising: a plurality ofwalls; an electronic component; at least one holding slot on one wall ofthe plurality of walls, wherein the at least one holding slot isconfigured to temporarily hold the electronic component at an angle withrespect to said one wall during assembly of the electronic device, whilethe electronic component is positioned parallel to said one wall oncethe electronic device is assembled.
 22. The electronic device of claim21, wherein the electronic component is a printed circuit board.
 23. Theelectronic device of claim 22, wherein there are two holding slots, eachof the two holding slots having a constant hollowed shape that extendsinward from said one wall and being configured to hold a corner of anedge of the printed circuit board during assembly of the electronicdevice.
 24. The electronic device of claim 23, wherein the constanthollowed shape of the two holding slots are U-shape, V-shape or C-shapehaving an opening portion, the opening portions of the two holding slotsfacing each other to hold the printed circuit board perpendicularly withrespect to said one wall during assembly of the electronic device. 25.The electronic device of claim 24, wherein the two holding slots are ata lateral position that is above an upper edge of the printed circuitboard.
 26. The electronic device of claim 24, wherein the two holdingslots are at a lateral position that is above an upper edge of theprinted circuit board and below an antenna bracket.
 27. The electronicdevice of claim 26, further comprising a plurality of antenna connectorson the printed circuit board, the antenna connectors being positionedcloser to an upper edge of the printed circuit board and away from theantenna bracket and being configured to connect with a plurality ofantenna wires extending from each of the antennas.
 28. The electronicdevice of claim 27 wherein the upper edge of the printed circuit boardis positioned at least partially below the antenna bracket and theantenna connectors are positioned on a component side of the printedcircuit board.
 29. The electronic device of claim 28, wherein each ofthe antenna wires of the antennas is routed to one of the sides of theantenna bracket and the antenna bracket is mounted to said one wall byattaching one of the sides of the antenna bracket to said one wall; andwherein the component side of the printed circuit board faces said onewall.
 30. The electronic device of claim 29, wherein the electronicdevice is a vertically oriented set top box or a vertically orientedgateway device.
 31. A method of assembling a device having a casing,comprising: positioning a wall of the casing to expose an interiorsurface of the wall, the interior surface having at least one holdingslot for temporarily holding an electronic component during assembly ofthe device; attaching an antenna assembly having antennas to theinterior surface of the wall; inserting an upper edge of the electroniccomponent into the at least one holding slot such that the at least oneholding slot holds the electronic component at an angle with respect tothe interior surface of the wall; connecting antenna wires of theantennas to antenna connectors that are positioned adjacent to the upperedge of the electronic component while the electronic component is heldin the at least one holding slot; removing the electronic component fromthe at least one holding slot and securing the electronic component inparallel with respect to the wall; and closing the casing.
 32. Themethod of claim 31, wherein the electronic component is a printedcircuit board.
 33. The method of claim 32, further comprising orientingthe printed circuit board such that a side of the printed circuit boardthat has the antenna connectors faces the wall during the securing. 34.The method of claim 33, further comprising orienting the printed circuitboard such that the upper edge of the printed circuit board is below theat least one holding slot and directed toward the at least one holdingslot during the securing.
 35. The method of claim 34, wherein theantenna assembly is an antenna bracket having polygonal structure withat least three sides that support the antennas.
 36. The method of claim35, further comprising routing the antenna wires to one of the sides ofthe antenna bracket, wherein the antenna bracket is mounted to the wallby attaching one of the sides of the antenna bracket to the wall. 37.The method of claim 35, wherein the antenna bracket is at a lateralposition above the at least one holding slot during the attaching. 38.The method of claim 37, wherein there are two holding slots, each of thetwo holding slots has a constant hollowed shape that extends inward fromthe interior surface of the wall and that has an opening portion, theopening portions of the two holding slots facing each other to hold theprinted circuit board perpendicularly with respect to the wall duringthe inserting.
 39. The method of claim 38, further comprising attachinga heatsink to the wall, wherein the heatsink is positioned between theinterior surface of the wall and the printed circuit board.
 40. Themethod of claim 31, wherein the casing is a vertically orientedstructure in which the height of the casing is greater than horizontalwidths of each of the sides and all horizontal depths of the casing.